by Mandy Magro
‘Amazing stuff.’ Dylan smiled. ‘And all without much effort from me—can’t complain about that.’
‘That’s it, Dylan. Too many people think they have to fight their thoughts, and control everything going on around them before they are happy or at peace, when really, it’s all about how you think and feel in situations. A simple change of the way we view things can make all the difference and put you back on the right track.’
‘Sounds like good advice to me. Now I just have to put it to practice.’
‘I don’t think you’ll have any problems at all doing that. You’re progressing really well with each session. And not having nightmares anymore, that’s a huge thing. You should be very proud of yourself.’
‘Oh, thanks, that means a lot.’ Dylan glanced over Theresa’s shoulder at the clock on the wall. ‘We’ve gone ten minutes over today. Sorry about that.’
Theresa waved her hand in the air. ‘Not to worry, you needed it. I didn’t want to stop the hypnosis when you were getting so much out of it.’
Theresa stood and so did Dylan as she opened her office door. ‘See you next week?’
‘Yup, with bells on,’ Dylan said as he stepped through the door and headed towards the front desk, his eyes widening a little when he spotted Freaky Frank sitting in the waiting area. He quickly recomposed himself before Frank noticed his surprise.
‘Hey, Dylan,’ Frank said, avoiding Dylan’s eyes.
‘Hey, Frank,’ Dylan replied, feeling equally uncomfortable. This wasn’t really the place for small talk—not that he and Frank shared that at the best of times.
Theresa popped her head out. ‘Hello Frank, come on through.’
Dylan breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting to seem rude but not knowing what else to say. He wondered what struggles had brought him to Theresa—maybe the recent death of his father? Whatever it was, it took a lot of guts to make the decision to come here, and good on Frank for taking that step.
CHAPTER
15
Pulling out of the rusty iron gates of Wildwood Acres, Renee skidded to avoid a massive roo as it bounded in front of her, the Land Cruiser coming to a halt as she missed it by mere inches.
‘Crazy bastards, anyone would think they had a death wish,’ Mick muttered as he tried to get comfortable, without much success, his cast-enclosed leg at a very unnatural angle while he sat sideways on the seat, the seatbelt twisted around him in a way that made him look half strangled. As Mick muttered and groaned beside her, Renee pointed the vehicle towards the other side of town, struggling not to put the pedal to the metal, not that the old girl had much horse power these days. She had been looking forward to the Fuds and Studs ball all week and couldn’t wait to get there.
She hoped the outfit she’d bought at the local western shop was suitable—a short denim skirt, figure-hugging diamanté-studded red top and Ariat Terrace Acres cowgirl boots. Although comfortable, it wasn’t the attire she was accustomed to now, Melbourne not really suitable for such clothing. But her love of western wear had never subsided in all the years she was away, and she had to silently admit she felt very sexy in it. She hoped Dylan would feel a twang of regret when he saw her all dressed up.
Outside the four-wheel drive, the hypnotic calls of frogmouths merged with the chirruping of crickets, the nocturnal calls drawing her into the deep stillness of the night. Up above, the ever-changing evening sky was faultless—trillions of stars twinkling brightly amongst equally glowing dust clouds, the Milky Way clear as day against the velvet-black backdrop of night. Renee felt a strong sense of belonging as she admired the dazzling show, the country sky so much brighter than what she’d become accustomed to in the city. She was going to miss this when she went back to her life in Melbourne, immensely.
Winding her window down further, her skin prickled with goosebumps, and the scent of the country—pure clean untainted air—invigorated her. The temperature had dropped significantly with the setting of the sun, from a balmy thirty degrees to just sixteen, the chill just enough to make standing by a crackling fire even more enjoyable. There was nothing more mesmerising for her than watching the flames dance, flicker and twirl upon the crackling logs. It helped erase her mind of all her worries, and she had plenty of them right now. And the scent of a campfire—smouldering earth mixed with charring wood—was powerful enough to wrap itself around her like a warm and fuzzy embrace. It was certainly a perfect night for a country shindig and she couldn’t wait to see what adventures were to be had. Maybe she might be lucky enough to meet a man.
Fifteen minutes later they were on the main road through town, following the long convoy of beat-up and hotted-up utes, four-wheel drives and cars towards the Opals Ridge Showgrounds, her mind’s eye flashing back to the times she and Scarlet used to attend similar get-togethers here with her grandparents as youngsters. They would enjoy a hearty communal meal—usually a pig or lamb on the spit with all the yummy trimmings—followed by a few hours of frivolity with the other local kids, the majority of the children ending up sleeping on blankets in a dedicated section of the hall while Mum and Dad and Nan and Pa, along with the other adults, bootscooted the night away. It was good old-fashioned country entertainment—and a great night had by all.
Sadly, all that stopped after her parents died. Life seemed to lose its magical lustre for all of them that dramatic day, and then Scarlet’s disappearance was the final straw. She wished her pa had agreed to come along tonight, but even after her constant nagging, he had declined, saying he was too old for it all now and he would rather hit the sack early.
The country tune playing on the radio was one of her all-time favourites. Renee turned it up, smiling as Mick sang the words way out of tune beside her. Garth Brooks’ ‘Ain’t Going Down ’Til The Sun Comes Up’ reminded her of days gone by. It made her wonder if the Studs and Fuds ball was going to be anything like the B&S ball she and Scarlet had snuck off to a few months before Scarlet had gone missing, their antics that night enough to get them grounded for a year, if they’d been sprung.
By the end of the night they were both drunk as skunks from the potent punch someone had concocted in a few ten-gallon buckets—given that neither of them usually drank alcohol it had only taken a few glasses—and the pair of them were covered from head to toe in every shade of food dye known to mankind. Thank God they hadn’t got themselves caught, making it back to the homestead just in time to sneak back through their bedroom windows before her pa got up at his usual time of five am.
The clothes they had been wearing that night, well, they kind of accidently-on-purpose went missing, the dye impossible to get out. Thinking back now, even though the evening had been a bit of a blur, she tried to piece together the fragments, wishing she could pick up a clue as to who Scarlet’s mystery man was. But as usual, nothing clicked. Billy had hung around Scarlet like a bad smell all night, making sure no other man came near his prized girlfriend, so there was no way her secret lover would have come anywhere near them. That was, if he was even there in the first place.
Mick’s throaty voice clutched her from the past and dragged her attention back to the present. ‘It’s good your pa agreed to letting you off the leash tonight, Reni. I’ll be bloody honest—I didn’t know whether he would. Even though he understands you’re old enough to take care of yourself now, he’s really worried about you being back here. Can’t blame the poor bugger really.’
She reached out and turned the stereo back down. ‘Yeah, I was a bit worried he was going to stress out too much about me coming along, but bless him for letting me. I think he knows I’m too old, and too stubborn, to be told what I can and can’t do now anyway.’
‘Don’t know about the too old bit, but the too stubborn bit, most definitely,’ Mick said, chuckling.
‘Oi, you can’t talk,’ Renee said, lightheartedly digging Mick in the ribs.
It was a relief that Pa had allowed her to attend with Mick, but it had irritated her when he’d told her he’d also asked Dylan to
keep an eye on her. She was twenty-six years old, for God’s sake.
She didn’t need to be babysat, especially by a man who would rather see the back of her—and at the moment, she’d rather see the back of him. After what had happened between them at the shack, and with how easily he had walked away, she didn’t know how they were ever meant to be normal around each other again. She had bitten her tongue, to the point of almost drawing blood, when her pa had told her, understanding his desire to protect her. But honestly, amongst so many people, it was very unlikely that anything untoward would happen.
Pulling the old Land Cruiser into the showground, Renee headed towards the camping area, which was surrounded in tall silvery gum trees, headlights illuminating an endless array of parked vehicles and swags already rolled out on the ground. Her belly filled with butterflies as the thump-thump of the popular country band greeted them along with hordes of partygoers and the bright red-and-orange glow of a few campfires. She wondered what familiar faces she was going to run into tonight, and most importantly of all, how people would react to her being back.
‘Bloody hell, it’s started already. Look at him!’ Mick hollered in hysterics, pointing to where a bloke was standing on the roof of his ute, stark naked, his manhood flopping about for all to see as he danced like an elephant on rollerblades. His mates surrounded the ute, egging him on even more while a girl who appeared to be his girlfriend begged him to get down. ‘Thankfully all the fuds will be in the hall, and that’s where I’ll be heading too, while all you young hoodlums have fun out here.’ He wriggled his eyebrows. ‘Segregation is essential at an event like this one, otherwise the young ones could find themselves getting in a fair bit of trouble from their elders.’
‘Oh. My. God,’ was all Renee could mutter in between her laughter as she drove a little further up the embankment and parked in a vacant spot, far enough away from the other vehicles to give her some privacy when she wanted to retire to her swag. She was looking forward to sleeping out under the stars, not having done it since she’d left Opals Ridge at seventeen—and she didn’t want a group of larrikins taking away that privilege by yahooing into the early hours of the morning beside her. There wasn’t really anywhere in Melbourne she could enjoy a night out under the stars, other than on the roof of her apartment block, and without the country night sky, it just hadn’t been worth the effort.
After helping Mick from the passenger side—as much as he would let her help him—Renee grabbed her little rucksack, groaning as the bottom of her back pinched. After spending the entirety of the day cleaning the homestead from top to bottom, she wondered if she was going to need a wheelchair by the end of the night. A few bevvies would help her muscles relax.
‘I’ll go for a wander and see if I can find Hayley. I got a text from her just before I left home saying she was on her way.’ She looked out over the crowd. ‘Lord knows where she’ll be—I reckon half the bloody town’s here.’ She pulled her mobile out from her rucksack. ‘Maybe I’ll try and call her.’
‘Good luck with that, Reni, there’s no phone service here. Knowing Hayley, though, my guess would be she’s over at the bar near the stage.’ Mick pointed to the hall. ‘I’ll be holding the bar up in there, if you need me. And I’ll pop out here every now and then to check up on you too—your pa will shoot me if you get yourself into any trouble tonight.’ Mick motioned to his crutches. ‘Not that I’m any type of bodyguard with these bloody things—although I could wallop someone if the need arose,’ Mick said with a wink.
‘I promise there’ll be no need for walloping anyone,’ Renee said with a grin as she and Mick hugged quickly then went off in different directions.
‘Not sure if I’ll be needing it or not yet, but just leave my swag on the bonnet, Reni. You crash in the back,’ Mick called after her.
She gave him a wave, letting him know she’d heard him.
Renee wandered through the gathering crowd, amazed at how many faces she didn’t recognise and aware that a few of the blokes’ eyes were on her, while some of the women eyed her warily, as if she was a threat to their marked territory. She understood. To most onlookers, she was a newbie, and anyone new to a country town always attracted plenty of attention—good and bad. It was different when she was a teenager here—back then, she knew everybody. Times had certainly changed as the picturesque township had increased tenfold in numbers.
With the attention making her a little uncomfortable, Renee desperately searched the sea of faces for a familiar one. A firm tap on her shoulder made her spin around. Expecting Hayley, she smiled broadly, her arms going out to pull her friend into a warm hug, her smile dissolving like quicksand and her arms quickly returning to her sides when she spotted who it really was. ‘Oh, it’s you. Hi.’
‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ Dylan said. ‘But yes, it’s me. Hi back.’ He grinned as though amused by her moodiness.
And that annoyed her even more.
Then they stood there, unspeaking, pretending the band was of more interest.
Why, of all people to run into first, did it have to be him? And why did he have to look so damn hot in his black wide-brimmed going-out hat, butt-hugging jeans and blue button-up shirt, the top of it open just enough to show a sneak peek of his muscular chest. What she’d give to place her lips against its lusciousness or lay her head upon it so she could listen to his heartbeat just like she used to. She bit her bottom lip, at a loss for words, her heart bashing against her chest half because she was still mad at him and half because she always felt like this when he was near her—and that pissed her off even more. She didn’t want Dylan to have this effect on her any longer. She had to move on and find another man to fall in love with, as hard as that was going to be.
Muteness hung heavily between them, the familiar song the band was belting out a slight reprieve in the uncomfortable silence. Renee hummed it to herself, needing to do something, standing still right now harder than ever. There were so many things that needed saying, so many questions that needed answering, but now wasn’t the right time—but would there ever be a right time?
Dylan gazed sideways at her, his blue eyes hinting at mischievousness, a beer raised to his wisp-of-a-smile lips. He looked her up and down very fleetingly, and although he tried to hide it, the expression in his eyes let her know he liked what he saw. After leaving her high and dry only two days ago, his chivalry surprised her. Maybe the beer was helping. Either way, it made her feel good that he was covertly checking her out.
When the band announced an interval, Dylan took a swig from his beer, and then acknowledged her with a broad grin. ‘Are you here alone? I thought you were coming with Mick?’
Renee grit her teeth as she returned his smile, mad at him for dragging her out onto a limb the other day, and then letting her fall flat on her face as he allowed it to snap. Wasn’t any decent man supposed to catch you when you fell? ‘He’s gone inside. Have you seen Hayley Gregory around, by any chance?’
‘I sure have, I was just yarning with her about half an hour ago. She’s over thataway.’ He motioned towards the bar. ‘You want me to walk you over there? I could do with another beer anyway.’
Renee recalled her pa’s words about Dylan keeping an eye on her and she felt her hackles go up. ‘Why, because you want to, or because you feel you have to? I know Pa has asked you to keep an eye on me tonight, but believe you me, I really don’t need to be babysat.’
Dylan threw both hands up in the air. ‘Whoa down there, Miss Tetchy. Talk about having sand in your underpants.’ He smiled again, his dimples prominent. ‘I know you don’t need to be babysat. Like I said, I just need another beer.’
Eyeing him cautiously for a few moments, Renee shrugged her shoulders. ‘Alright then, if you’re heading that way anyway, you may as well show me where she is.’
Dylan headed off. ‘Righto then, follow me.’
Walking behind him, his bulky frame blocking her view ahead, Renee’s eyes stayed glued to his jean-clad butt.
; It. Was. Perfect.
Damn it! Oh well, she thought, a girl can dream. Tearing her eyes away before Dylan busted her perving, she looked across the sea of happy faces, her excitement building. It had been way too long since she’d enjoyed a country night out. ‘Let the night begin,’ she whispered to herself with a wicked grin.
A few fun-filled hours later, Renee was feeling carefree and footloose as she moved her body in time to the music, the five or so beers she’d had along with the four cock-sucking cowboy shooters she’d downed with Hayley at the bar giving her Dutch courage. She had met so many wonderful people, including a few hot blokes that had tickled her fancy—although none of them came anywhere close to Dylan. She hadn’t felt this happy in ages.
Not normally being one to enjoy being a bit tanked, tonight her body felt like it was floating on air and in her mind she believed wholeheartedly that she was capable of anything. Maybe tonight she should apologise for what she said all those years ago and tell Dylan exactly what she thought of him—with no sugar coating, and see what he had to say. Or maybe she should just forget about him altogether and just enjoy the rest of her night?
The flash of a camera gripped her attention and blurred her vision for a few short moments, Hayley’s laughter contagious as she encouraged Renee to pose for the camera still pointed at them.
Craig Campbell grinned back at the pair of them from behind the lens. ‘Smile, ladies.’
He looked somewhat older—mind you, didn’t they all?—but Renee recognised him instantly. She gave him a wave. ‘Hey Craig, it’s been years,’ she called out over the music.